1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to electronic information distribution networks. More particularly, this invention relates to an appraisal agent which obtains electronic information from electronic information servers on behalf of an individual end user.
2. Background
Computer technology is continuously advancing, providing newer computer systems with continuously improved performance. One result of this improved performance is an increased use of computer systems by individuals in a wide variety of business, academic and personal applications. In some instances, these computer systems are linked together by a network or modems so that the systems can communicate with each other via electronic mail.
The current wide-ranging use of computer systems provides a relatively large potential market to providers of electronic content or information. These providers may include, for example, advertisers and other information publishers such as newspaper and magazine publishers. Presently, however, there are no systems which allow an individual end user to automatically access specific units of this electronic information from these providers which appeal to him or her. That is, no mechanism currently exists which allows the individual user to access only that information which has a high probability of appealing to him or her without actually browsing through all of the information himself or herself. Thus, it would be beneficial to provide a mechanism which allows an individual to automatically access specific units of electronic information which have a high probability of appealing to him or her.
In addition, it would be beneficial to provide a system which automatically retrieves electronic information for an individual user in accordance with the user's characteristics which are observed by the system. That is, a system which automatically retrieves units of electronic information having a high probability of appealing to the end user.
Furthermore, there are presently no systems for generating and transmitting electronic advertisements to end users operating a computer via an end-to-end electronic information distribution network. Thus, it would be beneficial to provide a system which allows an individual end user to access specific electronic advertisements which are most appealing to him or her.
In addition, many consumers do not enjoy advertisements being forced upon them. Thus, it would be advantageous to provide a system which gives consumers some control over what types of electronic information they receive and when they receive it.
The present invention provides for these and other advantageous results.